Laughter in the Dark
by YinYangWriter
Summary: One shot that was inspired by Kali Gargoyle's Halloween piece. On a stormy autumn night, Goliath and his clan are attacked by a strange power.


**This fan fiction was inspired by Kali Gargoyle and does not follow any of my series. This is just a fun, twisted piece of work. I do not own **_**Gargoyles**_** or **_**Rita's Italian Ice**_**.**

* * *

><p>The weather was getting colder, signaling the coming of winter. Right now the trees were turning color and there was always a chill in the air that had a certain scent to it. The only word that scent could be described was "Autumn".<p>

David Xanatos looked out of his office picture window. The sky was an eerie shade of dark gray, bordering on black. The sun was still in the sky, but its position was hidden by the dense clouds. He heard the wind blow outside and the felt the building shift. There was a storm coming and by the looks of it, a massive one.

Owen came into the office and walked up to the window, standing beside his employer. Xanatos looked over at the majordomo and could see that the Fey behind the human mask was stirring.

"What is it?" asked Xanatos.

There was a slight hesitation. "I do not know, sir," replied Owen.

Xanatos stared at Owen for a long moment and Owen turned to Xanatos, staring back. "There is something wrong." It was not a question. Xanatos could see there was something troubling his friend.

"I may be wrong," said Owen, not breaking eye contact.

"Speak with me?" Xanatos asked. "Please?" It was not a request for Owen, but for the one who hid behind him, and it was his choice if he showed himself to Xanatos.

There was a brief flash and Puck stood in Owen's place.

Xanatos inhaled sharply through his teeth as he looked upon Puck. The Fey's features were paler than usual and his face was a mask of terror. What could have Puck afraid?

"What is it, Puck?" asked Xanatos. "I have never seen you this scared before."

"I don't know what it is," said Puck. "I only know that it will come with this storm."

There was a bright flash of lightning that blinded both Xanatos and Puck for a moment followed immediately by a deafening crash of thunder that shook the entire building. Large raindrops fell from the dark clouds.

"Go to Alex," said Xanatos. "I do not want to have to worry about him. I know if you're there, nothing will happen."

Puck forced a grin and bowed before disappearing.

* * *

><p>When the sun went down, the gargoyles woke. Within seconds they were drenched to the skin.<p>

"Autumn weather is fickle," said Angela, covering her body with her wings to shield from both the cold wind and icy rain.

Goliath surveyed the sky. "We will not go on patrol today," he announced. "The weather is too dangerous."

* * *

><p>Elisa rode the elevator up to the castle and stepped out just as there was another humongous thunderclap.<p>

* * *

><p>The gargoyles, as they went inside, observed that every light in the city had gone out.<p>

"This storm's violent," muttered Brooklyn.

Elisa met up with them. She was holding a flashlight in one hand. She was completely soaked and shivering slightly.

"Hey," she said. "Guess you noticed the power's out."

"But doesn't Xanatos have back up generators?" asked Lexington. "They should have come on by now."

"Yes, they should," they heard Xanatos say. The CEO came into the room, holding a flashlight of his own. "The only way I can explain it is there is a malfunction."

"I can take a look," Lexington volunteered.

"Thank you, Lexington," said Xanatos.

Goliath looked at the detective. "Elisa, are you all right?" he asked. "You're shivering."

"I'm fine," replied Elisa, her teeth chattering.

Suddenly Bronx let out a warning bark and pounced on Elisa, biting at her.

"Bronx!" they all yelled in horror.

Goliath shoved the wingless gargoyle one way while pulling Elisa to him. Her jacket was ripped off and Bronx flung it across the room. He continued to growl at the red garment, his eyes flashing white, lighting up the entire room.

"Elisa!"

"Are you all right?"

"Are you hurt?"

"What's gotten into Bronx?"

The clan was fussing over Elisa all at once. Goliath was looking her over for bite marks and found none.

"My God!" gasped Xanatos, pointing his flashlight at the jacket.

They all turned to see frost had coated the jacket and ice was beginning to form.

"What sorcery be this?" Hudson asked, astounded.

"Oh, man," muttered Brooklyn. "That could have been Elisa. Good work, Bronx."

Goliath growled. "Is this some game of the Puck's?"

"No," replied Xanatos. "You should have seen Puck before the storm broke. He was afraid of something. I sent him to be with Alex."

"Puck? Afraid?" asked Angela.

"Oh, this isn't good," said Broadway.

"Yes, and after what happened to Elisa's jacket, there is no telling what will happen next," said Goliath. "We should search the castle. Perhaps one of us can find this sorcerer."

There was a scream from several rooms away.

"That was Fox!" said Xanatos, disappearing into the dark.

The others followed.

Fox was leaning up against the wall of the corridor staring horror-struck at the room across from her.

"Fox, what is it?" asked Xanatos.

She looked at her husband and back at the room. Her expression flickered between horror and confusion.

"Where's Alex?" she asked Xanatos.

"With Puck in the nursery," said Xanatos, trying to calm his wife.

Fox pivoted on her heel and ran to the nursery, her husband right behind her. She threw open the door, startling Alex, who now stared at the door, and Puck, who was entertaining Alex with glowing orbs until they had been interrupted.

"Fox, what is going on?" demanded Xanatos.

Fox ignored him and scooped up Alex and held him close. Now Fox was on the verge of tears and a panic attack. Her face was very pale and her legs shook.

"Janine, sit down before you fall down," Puck commanded in deep concern, crooking a finger at a nearby chair. The chair slid up behind Fox, bumping her into the backs of the legs, encouraging her to sit. She plopped down in the chair.

Fox's breath was coming in sobbing gasps as she held tightly onto Alex.

Xanatos kneeled in front of her. "Fox, what did you see?"

Fox tried to regain some semblance of control so she could tell them what she saw.

"Breathe, Fox," said Xanatos.

Puck came over and took Alex from Fox and handed him to Xanatos. "Fox, look at me," Puck said gently.

Fox looked up and Puck tenderly rubbed her forehead with his fingertips. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

"Better?" asked Puck.

"Much," replied Fox.

"Now, calmly, tell us what happened," said Puck.

"I was looking for my bracelet," said Fox. "I remembered taking it off in the sitting room where I had my coffee. I walked in and . . ." She began crying again. "I saw Alex on the floor, covered in blood. When David called out to me, I turned and when I looked back into the room, it was like nothing was ever there."

"Fox, I assure you, Alexander has not left my sight," said Puck, resting his slender hands on Fox's trembling shoulders.

Fox looked up with watery green eyes. "If he was with you, what did I see?"

"I don't know," answered Puck.

Xanatos told Puck what happened with Elisa's jacket.

"Sure she just didn't stay out in the cold too long?" asked Puck cheekily.

"Puck," growled Xanatos.

"Okay! It was a joke." Puck closed his eyes and listened intently, the points of his ears twitching. He opened his eyes and frowned. "I don't sense any other magical presences."

An echoing giggle sounded from nowhere causing them to jump. Every orb that Puck created suddenly was extinguished, plunging everything into total darkness. Xanatos yelled, Fox screamed, and Puck let out a gasp and there was a crash in his direction.

"Puck!" yelled Xanatos.

"I'm okay," the trickster quickly said. "I think."

"Alex, can you make one of those light orbs for Mommy?" Fox asked, trying not to completely lose it.

A small orb lit up the room.

"David!" cried Fox.

Xanatos' suit was ruined, several large tears in the jacket appeared to be gargoyle claws, but upon closer inspection revealed that the person who made them had five fingers, not four. He was still holding Alex in his arms and the baby was unharmed. Fox was fine, just shaken, but Puck was another story. The Fey had tumbled back into a pile of stuffed animals and his expression was one of disbelief and terror.

"Are you okay?" Fox asked Xanatos.

Xanatos handed Alex over to Fox. "I'm not hurt. My clothes are ruined, but I'm fine. Puck?"

Puck sat amongst the toys for a moment, trying to get his thoughts together.

"Puck, are you hurt?" asked Fox.

Puck blinked twice. "Something _kissed_ me," he finally said.

"What?" asked the Xanatoses.

"I know!" cried Puck.

"You sure?" asked Fox.

"I've been alive for a very long time," said Puck. "I know what it feels like to be kissed." He shuddered.

"That bad?" asked Xanatos, forcing a smirk.

"It was cold!" said Puck. "Almost like kissing a corpse, minus the smell. Tasted like lemons, too."

If the situation was not as dire as it was at the moment, Xanatos easily could have added a few questions concerning how Puck knew what kissing a corpse was like.

"Maybe we should find the gargoyles," said Fox. "Best if we all stay in one place, right?"

"Agreed," said Xanatos.

* * *

><p>The gargoyles and Elisa had split up into two groups and were currently searching for the cause of the strange happenings. Goliath, Elisa, Broadway, and Angela were one group, and Hudson, Brooklyn, Lexington, and Bronx were the other.<p>

Goliath, Elisa, Broadway, and Angela were currently searching the library. They split into pairs and searched the aisles of books. The library was large and could be a maze. It was dark and Elisa had the only flashlight.

"Ouch!" she yelped after walking into a shelf.

"Are you all right?" asked Goliath.

"I'm fine," said Elisa, rubbing her shoulder. "I forgot there was a shelf here."

Goliath frowned. "There shouldn't be," he said. "This should be the end of the aisle. There should not be a shelf here."

There was a thump behind them. Elisa whipped around and found a single book on the floor.

"Heh, just a book," she said. She picked it up and looked for its place on the shelf.

A book across the aisle flew off the shelf and smacked Elisa in the back.

"Elisa!" yelled Goliath.

Books began flying off the shelves and pelting the two of them. Goliath grabbed Elisa and shielded her from the worst of it.

"Goliath! Elisa!" Broadway shouted.

The books fell harmlessly to the floor. Goliath opened his wings and they saw Angela and Broadway hurrying up to them.

"Are you all right?" asked Angela, helping Elisa to her feet.

"I'm fine," said Elisa. "Just a few bruises." She observed the mess. "I heard hitting the stacks could be hard, but never the stacks hitting you."

"Clearly this is more magic by our mystery sorcerer," Goliath said in a very low voice.

"But why?" asked Broadway. "Why do all — ahh!"

The books opened up and all the pages began to be ripped from them by some invisible force. They swirled around the portly gargoyle.

"Broadway!" they all cried.

Just as sudden as the pages took flight, they fluttered harmlessly to the ground. But Broadway was gone.

"Broadway!" called Angela. "Broadway!"

The three of them dashed for the doors. Goliath reached them first and found them locked. He pulled and even slammed his shoulder against them, but to no avail.

"Stand back," he ordered, taking a few steps back and bracing himself for impact.

Goliath charged for the doors, but they opened and he stumbled out into the hallway. There was a shriek of laughter, much closer than the previous outbursts had been.

Elisa turned and saw a dark figure. The figure turned and started running down the hallway. "Oh, no you don't!" Elisa said, charging after it.

"Elisa, wait!" cried Angela.

The figure turned a corner with Elisa right on its heels. Angela followed closely behind, but turned the corner a second after they did. She saw no one, no figure, no Elisa. Not a trace of anyone.

"Elisa!" screamed Angela. There was no answer. "Father!"

Goliath had gotten to his feet and ran over to his daughter. "Where's Elisa?"

Angela shook her head, a few tears spilling from her eyes.

* * *

><p>Bronx was leading Hudson, Brooklyn, and Lexington to the kitchen. The gargoyle had his nose to the floor and was sniffing for anything out of the ordinary. Finally he caught a scent. He growled low in his throat, eyes flashing. He looked behind him to get the others' attention before stalking whatever had caused that smell.<p>

They did not get far before there was a huge clap of thunder that made them all jump and look at the window.

"Storm's not letting up at all," said Hudson.

"You think?" Brooklyn said with a biting edge to his voice.

"Let's keep going," said Lexington. "Bronx got a scent."

They turned to the gargoyle dog. Or tried to. Bronx was gone.

"Bronx?" asked Lexington.

"Bronx, c'mere boy!" called Hudson.

"Ah, great, Bronx is gone," said Brooklyn. "What do we do now?"

Lexington thought for a moment. "We're close the surveillance room. Maybe we can find Bronx using the cameras."

"That's a great idea," said Brooklyn. "Except the power's out."

"The cameras are on a system all their own," said Lexington. "Even if someone managed to disable the backup generators, they still should work."

The three gargoyles started for the surveillance room.

"We should have thought of this earlier," said Brooklyn.

"I thought about it now," said Lexington. "Better late than never, right?"

"Right," agreed Brooklyn. "Right, Hudson? Hudson?"

They looked around. Hudson was nowhere to be found.

"Great, now Hudson's missing," groaned Brooklyn.

"Let's go," said Lexington.

The two of them hurried to the surveillance room.

* * *

><p>Back in the nursery, Fox was sitting in a chair, holding Alex close to her. Xanatos and Puck were on high alert for anything that may come through the room. Their mystery guest already caught them off-guard once and it would not happen again.<p>

Puck had created many glowing orbs and they gave the room almost a daytime feel. There were few shadows to hide in, places where this person enjoyed attacking from.

Music began playing from somewhere, a simple tune that sounded creepy. They turned to find a music box sitting on Alex's dresser. Where had it come from?

Fox turned back to Alex. She let out a scream, jumped up, and dropped the bundle in her arms. Xanatos and Puck let out a cry of shock at the falling bundle, but instead of a thump and Alex starting to cry, all that fell to the ground was the blanket and a stuffed animal.

"Alex!" screamed Fox hysterically. "Alex!"

There was a maniacal giggle, clearly feminine.

"Show yourself!" roared Xanatos.

The giggle quieted and vanished altogether.

"I don't sense him anywhere," said Puck, looking around frantically. "What is this thing?"

The nursery door opened and Broadway stepped into the room. "What happened?" he asked.

"Alex is gone!" wailed Fox, falling to her knees.

"Where are the others?" asked Puck.

"I don't know," replied Broadway. "One minute I was in the library, the next I'm at the other end of this hallway."

"Did you see anyone?" asked Xanatos, trying to console Fox.

"No," answered Broadway.

"Hey, everyone."

"That's Lex," said Broadway.

"Brooklyn and I are in the surveillance room," Lexington said over the intercom. "The cameras are working, but there's some sort of interference."

"We're on our way there, Lexington," said Xanatos.

"We'll take the short way," said Puck, cracking his knuckles.

Lexington and Brooklyn jumped when Xanatos, Fox, Broadway, and Puck appeared in the surveillance room.

"Can you see Alex anywhere?" asked Fox.

"I don't see him," said Lexington. "I found Goliath and Angela, but I can't find Bronx, Hudson, or Elisa anywhere."

Broadway sat down in a chair. He let out a yell of surprise as the chair suddenly tipped sideways, throwing him to the floor. The chair bobbed in the air for a second before falling to the floor with a clatter.

"Show yourself, you little demon!" snarled Puck. "I've had enough of your games."

The only response Puck got was something very cold pressing against the back of his neck. He jumped and whirled, but found nothing. There was a shriek of laughter, but this time it was much quieter, farther away.

* * *

><p>Goliath and Angela wandered the hallways of the castle. They were beginning to think that this wasn't Castle Wyvern. Where rooms should be, they were not and where decorations should line the halls, they were different.<p>

"Oh, I'm so confused," said Angela, her voice quivering. "Where are we?"

Lightning flashed, giving the hallway a strobe light effect. A suit of armor was now standing in the middle of the hallway in front of them.

Goliath growled, his eyes glowing.

The armor moved, raising a mace above its head. Goliath charged forward, lashing out. The armor swung the mace and missed Goliath. Goliath knocked the mace from its hands and the suit of armor fell apart.

Behind him, Goliath heard a terrified cry. He turned around. Angela was walking up to him with the mace from the suit of armor in one hand. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"Father, get away!" she cried out.

"Angela, what are you doing?" asked Goliath as she raised the mace to strike.

"I can't control my body," she sobbed. "It's like it has a mind of its own."

Angela cried out in terror as she swung for Goliath's head. Goliath got out of the way and twisted Angela's wrist. She yelped and her opposite hand punched him in the face.

"I'm sorry!" she cried as he staggered back.

Goliath was immediately back on his feet. He pounced on Angela and wrestled with her. "Fight it, Angela! With all your strength, fight it!"

Angela let out a cry of relief and went limp. She had done it. She was free of whatever force that had been controlling her.

Goliath picked her up and held her close as she cried.

"Goliath, Angela, are you okay?" came Lexington's voice over the intercom.

"We're alive," said Goliath. To say they were okay was an overstatement. "Can you get us out of here?"

"No problem," they heard Puck say.

The next second they were in the surveillance room. Angela was curled in a ball, her wings and tail wrapped around herself. Broadway came over and wrapped her up in his arms and wings.

"You're all right," Angela said, relieved at seeing her love. "Thank goodness."

Goliath looked around. "Hudson, Bronx, and Alexander are gone?"

"Yeah," said Brooklyn. "One minute they were with us and next they were gone."

"The same happened to Elisa," said Goliath. He fisted his hand and his eyes flashed. "Who is behind this? And why?"

Puck shrugged. "You got me. I can't sense anything out of the ordinary. Even with Oberon's edict, I should be able to sense any magical presence."

Brooklyn suddenly let out a snarl of annoyance and whirled around. He then gasped.

"What?" asked Xanatos.

"Something was pulling at my hair," he said. He reached back to see if anything was caught in it and smoothed it down some.

They looked around and saw no one who should not have been there.

"Who left a drink in here?" Xanatos asked, indicating a large plastic drink cup sitting by Lexington. It was half-full of a yellow liquid.

"That was not there a second ago," said Lexington.

Angela screamed and pointed to Brooklyn, or where Brooklyn had been standing.

"Something dark grabbed him," Angela said, stammering, her hand shaking.

Puck growled. He had finally had enough. As much as he loved playing tricks, he hated being left in the dark and on the receiving end of something possibly very sinister. "Come out!" he shouted loud enough to be heard throughout most of the wing. "You want to play games with one of us, play with me. I make an excellent opponent."

"Puck, this may not be a good idea," said Fox.

"Okay," came the simple reply.

Puck was forcefully yanked through the stone floor.

Everyone else either screamed or called the trickster's name. They also noted that the drink cup was gone as well.

"Lex, how could not notice her right next to you?" yelled Broadway.

"Excuse me for being more concerned about Puck!" shouted the small gargoyle.

"Enough!" roared Goliath. "This is what she wants. She wants us fighting. It will make it all the more simple to catch us off-guard. We need to work together."

"Goliath's right," said Xanatos.

There was a stifled cry and Fox vanished through the wall.

"Fox!" shouted Xanatos.

There was that maniacal giggling again. The screens went to snow before a single monitor showed the dining hall. A dark figure was sitting on the table, legs crossed. It was obvious that this was their tormentor. She raised her hand and wiggled her fingers at the camera.

"After her!" said Goliath. "Perhaps we can catch her in the dining hall."

The remaining residences of Castle Wyvern ran out of the surveillance room and to the dining hall.

One of the tapestries was ripped down from the wall and swirled around Lexington. When Broadway and Goliath managed to rip it apart, he was gone.

Angela screamed as a door opened and she was pulled into the room, the door banging shut behind her. Xanatos was the first to reach it and found the room empty.

"Angela!" Goliath shouted as he reached the room.

"She's gone," murmured Xanatos.

They turned and found Broadway nowhere in sight.

The thunder was deafening outside, but the gargoyle and CEO could still hear their tormentor's hysterical laughter over the sound.

"Where are you?" shouted Goliath.

There was a flash of lightning that lit up everything. Just as the last flash came, Xanatos disappeared without a sound.

Goliath roared. "I am the only one left, witch! Face me, coward!"

"Well, I never!" came a voice from the darkness. Goliath hit a nerve and he knew it. But would it play out to his advantage?

What remaining light was there disappeared and Goliath felt a stinging sensation across his right cheek. He felt himself falling and he hit the floor.

* * *

><p>"Father? Father, wake up."<p>

"Come on, big guy, open your eyes."

Goliath opened his eyes to see Angela and Elisa kneeling over him. He sat up and found that everyone was in the great hall.

"We're all okay," said Elisa.

"Not all of us," said Fox, tears still running down her cheeks. "Alex is still missing."

The maniacal giggling sounded again, this time much closer and it did not echo. Sitting in the chair was a female dressed in a black dress with stud buttons, black tights, and black knee-high boots that she had resting on the table. The drink cup with the yellow liquid was sitting next to her foot and she held a bundle of black in one arm, a cardboard cup with a spoon sticking up in the same hand. Her hair was a hideous shade of dark olive green and spilled over her shoulders, hanging almost in dreads. Her eyes were hazel, outlined heavily in black eyeliner and she wore plum colored lipstick. She was thin as a twig and pale as a ghost. With her free hand, she waved at them like she had done on the monitor.

"Who are you?" demanded Goliath.

The mystery young woman looked at the glowing eyes of the gargoyles. She sat there with a smirk.

"No one of importance," she replied casually.

"Why did you attack us?" asked Hudson.

"You call a few harmless pranks attacking you?" she asked.

"Harmless pranks?" cried Fox. "You took my baby! Where is he?"

On cue, they heard Alexander coo and two little hands reached up from the bundle. The young woman looked down and grinned.

"Okay," she said, taking the spoon out of the cardboard cup. "You can have some more. You've been so good. He's been a little angel for me all night. Right, Alex?"

Alex reached for the spoon and the young woman fed him whatever was on it.

Fox and Xanatos let out a cry and Puck was ready to shoot over there, get Alex away from her, and cast a very nasty spell on her.

"Relax," said the young woman. "It's just vanilla custard and peach Italian ice."

"If you hurt him, so help me . . ." Fox began.

"Chill, love," said the young woman. "I have no intention of harming him."

"Why have you done this?" asked Angela.

"One of the symptoms of chronic boredom, I suppose," said the young woman.

"You put us through this because you were bored?" exploded Brooklyn. "Are you nuts?"

"Honey, I can ask some of you that same question." She turned to Puck. "'Like kissing a corpse'? I didn't think I could be that bad."

Everyone turned to Puck with either curiosity or astonishment on their faces.

She shrugged. "I guess I could have held off on the lemon Misto before doing that." She held out her hand to the plastic cup and it levitated into her grasp. She took a sip. "You gotta admit, _Rita's Italian Ice_ is really good." Alex fussed again for more custard and ice.

"So, Miss No-One-Of-Importance, what happens now?" asked Elisa, putting her hands on her hips. "'Cause I can think of where you will be going next."

"Jail? Ha! Like you could arrest me." The young woman gave Alex another spoonful.

Puck grinned sadistically and wiggled his fingers. "Just say the word, David," he muttered. "I'll turn her into the rat she is!"

The young woman reached down and picked up something. She whistled. "Here, Bronx!"

She tossed something at Bronx. He caught it and began gnawing on it. It looked suspiciously like a large ham bone.

"You could have killed someone!" said Lexington.

"It wasn't my aim. You're all fine, aren't you?" She considered. "At least, physically."

The young woman stood up and put the cup down. She gently bounced Alex in her arms before walking over to Fox. Fox accepted her child and before the young woman could react, popped her one right in the nose.

"Ow. Okay, I deserved that."

"You deserve more than that!" shrieked Fox.

Alex began crying.

"Great, now you made him cry," said the young woman. She disappeared and reappeared back at the table, now sitting on the edge. "Well, I better scoot. See you around sometime, loves."

"You still didn't answer my question," growled Goliath. "Who are you?"

She tilted her head back and sighed, annoyed. "Persistent, aren't we? You want a name to match the face? Fine. Call me Selena."

With that she clapped her hands together. The sound was in sync with a bright bolt of lightning and a crash of thunder. She vanished.

The lights all over the city came back on and the storm began to taper off.

"Do you think she's gone?" asked Broadway.

"I think she is," said Xanatos.

"You want to know what is scarier than what we went through?" asked Lexington.

"Besides facing Oberon?" asked Puck.

"I think I know what you mean, Lex," said Brooklyn. "She's still out there. That means she can come back anytime."

Everyone shuddered.

"I think I've had enough for one night," said Elisa. "I'm going home. Anyone seen my ice cubed jacket?"

Angela gasped. They turned and saw Elisa's jacket laying on the table looking freshly washed and dried. When Elisa picked it up, she found it was still warm from a dryer.

"Like I said," said Brooklyn. "Anytime."

* * *

><p><strong>So what do you think? Please review, I value your opinions.<strong>


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